gpallem

Hi,

I just searched the files for information on my problem, but couldn't find a similarly posted one, so here goes:

The top on my 90 Cabrio appears to bind upon opening. That is, when I press the switch, the motors do their job unlatching the windshield latches, but when the top motor begins the pull the top upward, the left hand side latch is still sligthly engaged. As a result, the top motor just about pulls the entire A-pillar assembly of the car, until the latch is forced to let go and the top opens and recedes normally (obviously I quit opening the top this way ). When closing no problems are encountered. Apparently the left latch needs some adjustment. Any ideas how this is done? I checked the receiving part on the windshield header, but that is already moved over as much as it will go.

Thanks for any information on this!
Geert 90 C-2.

Jared W.

HI,

I had a similar problem a few months back. The top would unlatch, but seem to "stick" before pulling open. It turns out that I had a problem with one of the transmissions, so only one side was pulling. This caused the top to bend a bit as it came open, and bind on the A pillar.

Otherwise, it could be an adjustment issue. If some parts of the top frame are out of whack, it could bind up. You should have someone who knows these tops do the adjustment, it is pretty hard to get right.

gpallem

Hi Jared,

Thanks for your message. What was done to remedy your top's similar problem? Replace the transmission (wherever it may be...)? Rough cost?

Thanks for the additonal information,
Geert

Jared W.

Well, unfortunately, I didn't take care of it soon enough. It would have been just the transmission (located behind the back "seats", costs around $500), but because of the uneven torque that was placed on the B piller, it snapped in two. I had to take the whole thing apart and replace the transmission, B pillar, and have the rest adjusted. Total cost was almost $2000. So, go have it looked at ASAP, if it is the transmission, it should just be $500 parts plus a couple hours labor. Sometimes, the cables that run from the transmissions to the gears (right by the rear speakers in the cab, the arms that actually do the lifting) will strip. The cable can be replaced, and everything will work again.

andrew911

Yes, get this fixed before using the top again- I've heard of people ripping their top because it gets out of adjustment, and that could be some BIG $!!!

gpallem

Thanks Jared and Andrew911 for the warning! I will swing by the dealer to have them have a look. Do have to say that I somewhat confused by the bag of components (esp. re: transmissions) that apparently make up what used to be a pretty simple mechanical set-up, i.e. an auto convertible top. On the 67 LeMans Convertible I drove in college there pretty much was 1 canvas, 1 set of metal bows, 2 latches, and 1 electric motor pumping hydraulic fluid. Voila. Crude, but worked flawlessly for 30 years!
Ahhh, progress.
Geert

gpallem

Had my Cabrio looked at by the dealer regarding the convertible top (see problem description in original post above). Apparently--and this I was told by the service manager over the phone--there is an "updated version of the pins in the front." :0 ? Service manager went on to say that they had one in stock, installed it, and ordered the second one. The "updated pins are $24-something each. Total cost for fixing the problem $242.00 plus tax. When I pick the car up, I will talk with the mechanic so that I may know what these updated pins are. So far, I am at a loss as to what they are, but happy that the cost is--in view of some other posts--mild. That is, if it really fixed my problem. Bit skeptical today as I just had the Volvo dealer look at a rear brake grinding noise in family wagon. He proudly explained the noise by producing a pebble that was pulled out of the brake assembly. In the morning, of course, as wifey drives off, what do I hear but a rear brake grind!

andrew911

Must have got another pebble in the hole in the brake pad on that volvo Well, let's hope you got the convertible top fixed- not bad if anything broken is less than $300 to fix! I must say, the power top works flawlessly on my car, but that is one item I'm nervous about. I wish it was just a manual top, since I always have to get out of the car anyway to put the boot on anyway.

We have a 1978 volkswagen beetle convertible and it is just 2 quick latches and push the top back...PLUS it has a glass rear window rear defog! It had just about 200hp to few though <img border="0" alt="[hiha]" title="" src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" /> I bought my car last year used, but I have the original window sticker for my car and it was $77,000, so I'm assuming that Porsche only saw it fitting to put a fully automatic convertible top, especially given that cars in the similar price range such as the 500sl had fully power tops. Even the two clips on top of the windshield are power (I'm not sure if the earlier 964 cabs had this feature)- you literally just have to press and hold the convertible top button- I would have rather had a manual top to put down myself for the obvious simplicity now that the car is 10 years old though, with all those things that could break or get out of adjustment...

gpallem

Neat cars the old convertible beetles! You can always try to drop in a carbed 3.0 or something

The top on the earlier 964 cabs is apparently the same, i.e. fully automatic. To date, I have really liked this feature as it does make convertible life a bit easier. Understandable though that we are all a bit uneasy with regards to potential costs. Some posted expenditures are pretty scary considering they reflect close to 10% of current trade values for the cars. If I'm not mistaken, this may be the second biggest item to frequently go awry; major engine work coming in first. Correct?

The exterior of my convertible top is near-mint (black, no fade). The previous owner literally never took the car out unless the weather was nice enough to have the top down, and not too hot for her to have to have air conditioning on. The car sat in their garage with the top down at all times. Only a couple of times did she have to raise the top when out as brought on by a surprise shower (we know the PO well so this isn't the old salesman pitch). Result is that the top is pretty much new looking outside. The head liner, though, was close to feeling dry-rotted and ripped, so I removed it.

andrew911

You should not leave the top down for extended periods of time, per the owner's manual- maybe that's why the interior head liner dry rotted? I will leave my top down in the garage say on a Friday or Saturday night, if I know I'll be using the car the next day, but then put it up Sunday night if I won't use the car again until the following Friday night or Saturday.

You're right, I guess the top could be the second most expensive thing to fix after engine/clutch items...you bring up that the convertible top could be 10% of the trade-in value of the car to fix- that also equals more than I paid for my 1978 volkswagen convertible too!

gpallem

Picked the car up from the dealer with the new pin installed. Mechanic explained that there is a newer design for the top pins that slide into the extreme left and right sides of the A-pillar. Apparently, the old pin is longer and has a different profile. This can cause the top to hang up while the motor is pulling the top back after it has lifted it. The newer design does away with this. My sticking had nothing to do with the roller latch mechanism. Everything now has been adjusted and checked. That's the story. Thanks for all that responded and advised me to seek professional help I could have been looking in the wrong area for hours!

Geert

Jacks911

Had a similar hesitation when opening the top on my '91 C2. But it was a very slight tug just as the top pins cleared and seemed to be even on both sides. Also noticed after last summer of frequent use that the verticle seals at rear of the window glass where not sealing to the glass anymore. I got into the back seat with a flash light to look at adjusting the seals and found the left upright (B piller) was cracked.

$775 at "Convertibles Only" in Seattle and all was well again. The shop diassembled the top had the B post welded (saved about $500 over a new part - if you can find one) reassembled the top, adjusted the seals out to fit to the glass again, adjusted & cleaned everything and All is Well again. Top works very nicely. The owner of the shop said the crack could have occured some time ago and the hitch when opening was likely not the cause but the effect of the break, which on the left side was held together by the seal plate-screw-washer and the fabric top? Who knows - "the Chicken or the egg" ?

mmthorn

Does anyone have a picture of the updated pins that align the top to the front outside edges of the windshield?

Thanks,

mmthorn

Here is my alignment pin modification. I took the stock pins and ground them down. Seems to work pretty good. Sorry about misaligning the ruler...but the ground pin is about 3 mm shorter.